We humans have a lot to think about as we approach the New Year. There are resolutions to make, year-end tax strategies to consider, parties to plan and football games to watch.

For birds, life is less complex. The goals are to find enough food to make it through the winter, and avoid being eaten by a predator.

While participating in the Christmas Bird Count at Harris Neck, I had fun watching as well as counting birds.

One of the most obvious and vocal species we saw was the rather drab but distinctive eastern phoebe.

This small, gray and white flycatcher with a habit of pumping its tail is common around open fields and wet areas.

It stakes out a territory that offers an abundant supply of flying insects and darts out to grasp a bug in mid-air before returning to its perch.

Walking along the dike at Woody Pond, I could hear several phoebes intoning their raspy “fee-bee, fee-bee-o” song.

Occasionally, two birds would cross paths and one would chase the other across the dike, before returning to a handy tree stump.

Since eastern phoebes do not breed in our area, I figured this territorial display had to be about food. The phoebe that gets the most bugs will end the winter fat, happy and ready for spring migration.

An hour later, I observed a pair of yellow-bellied sapsuckers chasing each other from tree to tree. Looking with binoculars and with my camera lens, I could see that both had red on top of their heads and beneath their throats. This was not a courting couple (sapsuckers do not nest in our area), but two males engaged in a territorial spat. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers stake out trees that have high sugar content in their sap, and drill evenly spaced rows of holes known as sap wells. They lap up the oozing sap, as well as dine on the insects that are attracted to the nectar. Sapsuckers have been observed vigorously defending their wells from other birds and even insects that stop by hoping for a sweet treat.

Perhaps the most aggressive bird when it comes to defending its food is the northern mockingbird. Common in urban and suburban areas, this berry bully is an accomplished singer and uses its voice as well as active patrolling to drive competitors away from its favorite food patch.

This year, a mockingbird staked out the berry-laden yaupon holly shrubs on either side of my driveway. It perched on the windshield wipers of my car, pecking at its reflection in the windshield. Next, it perched on the rear-view mirror and attempted to drive away the intruder. I considered covering the windows and mirrors with plastic bags or sheets, but instead settled on a simpler solution — moving the car to another part of the yard.

The problem of birds attacking their reflection is a tough one. You might put on your detective cap, go outside and look to see exactly what your windows are reflecting, and if it changes at different times of day. Birds do not grasp the concept of reflection. They will not stop attacking unless the reflection goes away, all the berries are gone or nesting season is over.

Since most of us want to see out of our windows, covering them is not a desirable solution. Try hanging a semi-transparent painters’ tarp in front of the problem window for seven to 10 days. If the bird cannot see its rival for a time, it may tire of the fighting behavior and go elsewhere. One person reported that she placed large numbers of small Post-it notes on the outside of her window and that did the trick — not exactly attractive but less expensive than investing in non-reflective window film. If you have found a great solution to this bird problem, please e-mail me at birderseyeview@bellsouth.net. I’ll share some of the responses on my blog: dianachurchillbirds.blogspot.com.